Sexual violence in the lives of first-year university women in Canada: no improvements in the 21st century

Research suggests that the risk of sexual assault is particularly high for university women especially in the first year or two, which some authors have termed the `red zone’ [1],[2]. In a representative sample of female students at Canadian universities, Dekeseredy and Kelly [3] found that more than one in four women have been sexually assaulted. Similar findings have been published in the U.S. [4],[5]. This is particularly concerning given the detrimental physical and mental health consequences resulting from sexual assault, which include physical injuries as well as unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, depression, suicide ideation, and posttraumatic stress disorder [6],[7]. Although university campuses in the U.S. have been identified as key sites for sexual assault prevention for more than 20 years [8], renewed 2005 and 2013], prevention efforts have had limited effects. President Obama recently called for an urgent and systematic approach to address the issue of sexual violence on campus [9]. There are no similar directives or federal or provincial regulations for campuses in Canada.

Obama’s task force report, and others before it [10], stress that medical and psychological staff in campus health centres must be involved in dealing with sexual violence. Because most women do not seek out or disclose to formal health resources [11], appropriate and accessible intervention may be the key to minimizing these health effects. As increased support and prevention efforts take shape in Canada [12],[13], it is essential that we understand the types of sexual violence, and their prevalence, that first-year university women experience to better tailor victim support, health care, and prevention.

Although it is clear that rates of sexual assault in the general Canadian population have not decreased over the past 20 years [14],[15], there have been few studies of sexual violence on Canadian campuses since the early 1990s. With one exception [16], the studies were based on small samples and at single universities. The aim of the present study is to rectify these deficiencies by providing data on the frequency, type, and context of sexual assault experiences in a large sample of women attending their first year of university in three Canadian cities. This article summarizes women’s experiences with sexual coercion and sexual assault since the age of 14 years, provides a brief sketch of their voluntary sexual and romantic relationship history, and their prior education on sexual assault and self-defence. These results should prove useful to university administrators, physicians, health centre and student services staff and student groups in planning and implementing prevention and treatment efforts.

The present study is the first large, university-based sexual assault study in Canada since the 1990s [3]. A majority of first-year female students had been sexually assaulted by a man, with one-third previously having experienced rape or attempted rape. Incapacitation due to drugs or alcohol and use of force were the most common perpetrator tactics. The results are suggestive of a `red zone’ [2], whereby the occurrence of sexual victimization was higher among women who were recruited later in the academic year (winter semester) than earlier (fall semester). A comparison to the best U.S. studies conducted within the last 15 years confirm these findings [5]. Re-victimization was found to occur commonly in the present study and elsewhere [23], and it has been shown to have a greater negative impact on victims [24], and future victimization may be more difficult to prevent.

The study results also suggest that only a small minority of women have previous education or training about sexual assault, and therefore most are unprepared for the perpetrators they may face once they arrive on campus. Although high quality self-defence training has been shown to be empowering for women [25], because so few participants reported they also received information about rape, it seems likely this was `stranger danger’ self-defence. Without debunking rape myths, such training is unlikely to be put into practice by women against men they know [26]. In addition, the optimism bias held by these first-year students (and women more generally [27]) that other women are at greater risk of sexual assault than they are suggests that young women are not well prepared. This pattern was also evident, although less pronounced, for women who had previously been raped by men.

The present collection of findings has a number of implications for policy and prevention efforts on campus, with women and with men. First, it is well-known that alcohol and drugs are implicated in many of the sexual assaults of women students in university [28]. However, the relationship between alcohol and sexual assault is not simple nor direct [29]. Although decreasing alcohol consumption among male and female students is likely to reduce sexual violence perpetration, the present results do not support the premise that alcohol-involved assaults are the result of miscommunication between students who have simply had too much to drink or that sexual assault would end if women drank less, as commonly emphasized by the media and university programming. Our results show that men used force or threats in more than half of the sexual assaults committed, including situations where women were also incapacitated (voluntarily or involuntarily) by drugs or alcohol. More productive interventions for women should focus on safety planning and resistance across varied social situations, including ones involving alcohol or drugs, since women’s behavioral reactions to threat may be slowed or reduced when alcohol is consumed [30].

Second, the present study supports findings from U.S. studies showing that many young women will have experienced sexual assault before they turn 18 years of age [31] or by the time they enter university. Staff conducting education programming must be aware that women who have experienced rape or other forms of sexual assault will be present in student audiences. Several `risk reduction’ programs have been differentially effective for women with and without a history of sexual assault, showing no effects for previously victimized women [32],[33]. In particular, program content that could be interpreted by a survivor as victim-blaming could be harmful and potentially increase detrimental health outcomes. Efficacious education and prevention efforts need to be expanded that take abuse history into account, and begin as soon as possible when a woman first enters university [1]. In addition, provision of student support and services should be trauma-informed [34],[35], with all front-line staff receiving appropriate training. Without these measures, sexual assault rates can only be expected to increase by graduation.

Third, optimism biases regarding negative events are commonplace and sexual victimization is no exception. These biases may be obstacles for attracting female students to interventions or keeping them engaged. Interventions need to take a multi-prong approach to counteract optimism bias. Perceptions of personal relevance can be increased by using recent and local statistics [19]. Focusing on the development of situational risk detection skills that do not require personal identification with risk is also recommended [30].

Finally, while resistance interventions targeting women are one piece of the sexual violence prevention puzzle [36], effective interventions that can reach young men and create male allies are critical. Reducing men’s perpetration would be the most direct means to reduce sexual violence on campuses. To date, programs targeting men to attempt to prevent perpetration have been largely unsuccessful [37],[38]. Bystander-type interventions which aim to create a community of men (and women) who recognize the cultural supports for sexual violence, object to demonstrations of sexually aggressive masculinity, and intervene in situations where sexual assault risk is apparent, show considerable promise e.g., [39]. Until these other programming efforts demonstrate reductions in sexual assault rates and widespread dissemination, resistance programming for women will be necessary.

A major strength of the present study is the use of the revised SES-SFV, which makes it possible for the first time to provide Canadian data on the frequency of oral, vaginal, and anal rape and attempted rape. Although oral and vaginal rapes were most common, anal rape, with its additional health risks, was experienced by one in six rape survivors and almost always in combination with other types of rape. Little attention has been paid to anal rape on university campuses, although a recent U.S. study suggests that it is a concern [40]. Anal rape is unlikely to be discussed in high school because explicit sexual content is often removed from sexual education programs when they are adapted for adolescents [41].

One limitation of the current study is that, due to the requirements in conducting a randomized controlled trial, we did not have a random sample of first-year university women. Participants had to be willing to participate in a sexual assault intervention. Based on prior research regarding subject selection biases [42], the manner in which our study was advertised could have enrolled a greater number of previously victimized and sexually experienced women than the general population of first-year women. Nevertheless, our large-sample study substantiates the need to address sexual assault risk as soon as possible after women enter university.

The results of the present study provide a profile of women who were willing to participate in sexual assault resistance education and would, therefore, be receptive to it. As such, the study findings should be of particular interest to campus health centres, student services and university administrators. The continuing high rates of sexual assault indicate the need for effective services and interventions on campuses, including a requirement for primary care physicians and nurses to ask about sexual violence when taking patient histories [43]. Although there are challenges to prevention because many interventions lack theoretical grounding, empirical evaluation, or are generally ineffective or worse [44], another 20 years cannot be permitted to pass without a decline in sexual assault among women entering university. Fortunately, sexual assault resistance education for women is being developed [45]-[47], one program is currently being evaluated in a current randomized controlled trial [17], and other promising efforts to engage male and female bystanders in sexual assault prevention are underway [39],[48].

CYS drafted the manuscript, and contributed to the analysis and interpretation of the data. ME contributed to the analysis and interpretation of the data, and revised the content of the manuscript. PCB, WET, IRN contributed to the acquisition and interpretation of the data and revised the manuscript. HLR contributed to the interpretation of the results and critically reviewed the manuscript for intellectual content. KLH contributed to the analysis of the data and revisions to the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.